COMPANYNEWS
Masdar modules make a park
AT NEARLY 6 m2 , the full size module
from Masdar PV is almost as big as a garage door. The company is supplying the full size thin-film PV modules for three solar parks with a capacity of 1 MW each to be built in Slovakia. Installation integrator is the Hungarian company Raabvill Kft., which has contracted with Masdar PV to supply a total of 6 MW of the silicon-based thin-film PV modules.
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The first 3 MW will begin supplying renewable solar energy in Slovakia in June 2011. The remaining modules will be installed later that summer. The large surface area of the full-size modules means that overall system costs are
reduced, allowing customers to obtain an attractive cost-benefit ratio.
“Our 5.7 m2 large full size modules require fewer inverters and less cable for installation - so set-up and maintenance costs are lower. That creates unmistakable advantages for our customers and we expect the demand for our full-size modules to continue increasing for that reason”, says Dr. Matthias Peschke, Chief Operating Officer at Masdar PV.
“In Raabvill Kft. we have a highly experienced and successful partner with very good contacts, particularly with
Eastern European investors and government agencies.”
Raabvill Kft.’s decision to order from the Ichtershausen-based company is primarily based on the excellent quality of its solar modules as well as the high energy efficiency of 8 % that the modules deliver. With the financial strength of its parent company, Masdar of Abu Dhabi, behind it, Masdar PV also represents a reliable partner in Germany for Raabvill Kft. Peter Krupanszky from Raabvill Kft. puts it this way: “We see this initial large order as the prelude to a successful and long-lasting partnership between Masdar PV and our company.”
1366 Technologies receives DOE propulsion
U.S. ENERGY SECRETARY Steven Chu today announced the offer of a conditional commitment for a $150 million loan guarantee to 1366 Technologies, Inc. for the development of a multicrystalline wafer manufacturing project. The project will be capable of producing approximately 700 to 1,000 megawatts (MW) of silicon-based wafers annually using a manufacturing process called Direct Wafer. The process could reduce manufacturing costs of the wafers by approximately 50 percent, cutting the cost of solar power. Phase 1 of the project will be located in Lexington, Massachusetts and is expected to generate 70 permanent jobs and 50 construction jobs. The company is evaluating site locations for another phase, which they anticipate will create hundreds of additional jobs.
“This project is a game-changer that could dramatically lower the cost of photovoltaic solar cells. It is exactly the kind of innovation that puts America at the forefront of the global clean energy race,” said Secretary Chu. “As global demand for solar cells increases, this kind of technology will help the U.S. increase its
the time relative to conventional batch processing which can take up to three days. The company’s revolutionary one- step process requires ninety percent less energy and results in an industry-standard product that can be used by any standard multicrystalline cell manufacturer.
market share and be more competitive with other countries such as China, which currently accounts for 60 percent of the world supply of multicrystalline wafers.”
The original development of the company’s Direct Wafering technology was supported with a $4 million grant from DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy program and a $3 million grant from DOE’s Solar Energy Technology Program. The innovative manufacturing process condenses four manufacturing steps into a single, low cost step and greatly reduces silicon waste by forming individual wafers directly from a pool of molten silicon. A thin sheet of silicon freezes inside the Direct Wafer furnace and is then removed and laser-trimmed to size. At full production, the entire wafer formation process is completed in just a fraction of
The loan administers three separate programs: the Title XVII Section 1703 and Section 1705 loan guarantee programs, and the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) loan program. The loan guarantee programs support the deployment of technologies that avoid, reduce, or sequester greenhouse gas emissions, while ATVM supports the development of advanced vehicle technologies. Under all three programs, DOE has issued loans, loan guarantees or offered conditional commitments for loan guarantees totaling over $33 billion to support 35 clean energy projects across the U.S. DOE has also issued guarantees to support projects including four of the world’s largest solar generation facilities, two geothermal projects, the world’s largest wind farm and the first new nuclear power plant in three decades.
www.solar-pv-management.com Issue VI 2011
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